Our Instructors
Anghard Davies is an award-winning dancer, choreographer, and teacher. Her choreography for dance, theater, and opera has been presented by Artspace New Haven, Danspace Project (NYC); ODC (San Francisco), Radialsystem (Berlin); Walker Art Center and Mixed Blood Theater (MPLS); and Yale Repertory Theatre, among other venues.
As a performer, she has worked with companies and choreographers across the U.S., Europe, and Asia, including Ivy Baldwin Dance, Drastic Action, Gibney Dance, Hanna Hegenscheidt, SuperGroup, and Chris Yon. She has been on faculty at the University of Minnesota, the Lincoln Center Institute, Berlin’s Staatlicheballettschule, and the Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists, a public performing arts high school in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
Additionally, she has been a guest artist, teaching master classes internationally at many universities and arts institutions, such as Yale, Princeton, Sasha Waltz & Guests, K3 Zentrum für Choreografie in Hamburg, Germany, and Yorkshire Dance Centre in Leeds, England. Angharad’s current teaching includes faculty appointments at Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, CT, the Educational Center for the Arts in New Haven, CT, and Naugatuck Valley Community College in Waterbury, CT.
She holds a B.A. with Honors in English from The George Washington University and an MFA in Dance, from NYU.
Website
Benjamin Lowery is a painter and teacher working in Lancaster, PA. Born in Waukesha, WI, Lowery has an MFA in painting from Indiana University and a B.A. in painting from the University of Dallas. He also studied at the Mount Gretna School of Art and the Jerusalem Studio School in Civita Castellana, Italy. He has been exhibited nationally in New York City, Pennsylvania, Indianapolis and Dallas. He is currently a foundations instructor at Pennsylvania College of Art and Desig
Freya Sachs is a teacher and writer in Nashville, TN. She is chair of the English Department of University School of Nashville, where she teaches high school English and creative writing. Her poems can be found as part of Nashville’s “Poetry In Motion” series, in the anthology Extinguished and Extinct: An Anthology of Things That No Longer Exist, at Rove poetry, and elsewhere. Her fiction reviews can be found at BookPage. She holds an AB in Environmental Studies from Dartmouth College and an MFA in Creative Writing from Vanderbilt University.
Hey! I’m Haleigh (any pronouns), a rising senior at the University of Connecticut! I’m a Fine Arts major (painting/drawing) and an Art History minor. Play and fun self-expression are cruxes in my practice, and I develop these ideas in mixed media. My interests are my inspirations, and I love video games, movies, and music. It’s my first time coming to Putney, and I’m super excited to meet everyone!
Hi! My name’s Hannah, I’m 23 and a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. I studied Radio-Television-Film with an emphasis on screenwriting. I’m excited to be at Putney for the summer and am looking forward to meeting everyone!
Kenter Davies is a songwriter, vocal arranger, and music educator currently residing in Brooklyn, New York. He earned a B.A. in Music and Psychology from Skidmore College in 2019, and is currently pursuing an M.A. in Music Education at Hunter College.
Music has always been a major part of Kenter’s life; whether it be through his a cappella arrangements that won him an award for Outstanding Arrangement at the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella in 2018, the musical theatre song-cycle he co-wrote, directed, and produced in 2021, or his current involvement as a member of the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus.
In his free time Kenter loves to cook, do yoga, semi-successfully keep his plants alive, and make music with Gaia Music Collective, a NYC-based creative community. Kenter is thrilled to be returning to Putney as an instructor 10 years after being a student himself, giving back to the wonderful place that fueled his ongoing passion for the arts!
Leigh Niland is an American artist living and working in Brattleboro, Vermont. Her current work is a series of drawn and oil-painted portraits of people and buildings. Niland currently teaches arts classes and workshops as a faculty member at The River Gallery School of Art. She has taught drawing at Snow Farm and both drawing and printmaking as a visiting professor at International Institute of Fine Arts (IIFA) in New Delhi, India (2012), as adjunct faculty from the Royal Drawing School; adjunct faculty at The New Hampshire Institute of Art (2010- 2013) and at New England College (2011 & 2013).
Hi! My name is Lizzy, and I have always loved the arts! I grew up dancing and later performing in theater, and I’ve always been very crafty in my free time. I love crocheting, baking, beading, sketching, and just generally trying new things (currently trying to learn to play the guitar). Most of all dance has my heart though, as I grew up training in many different styles of dance and now am majoring at my college! I also have a lot of love for the outdoors. Growing up in Colorado sparked a lot of my passion for hiking, camping, skiing, gardening, and more, and I am always up for an adventure. I’ve worked on farms a couple of times and done some solo camping trips, and am always down to explore or swim in a river. This is my first year at Putney, I heard about it from a friend who said everything she knew about me told her I had to go to Putney, and I’m really excited to get started!
Maya Villalobos attended the Putney Summer Arts Program as a teenager and is thrilled to be back! Born and raised in New York City, she graduated from Bennington College in 2021 with a B.A. in visual arts, and continues to create as an independent artist. She is passionate about supporting creative communities where people can explore their interests and learn alongside each other. Maya is starting a new position as a preschool educator in the fall of 2022. She enjoys folk music, being outside, oil painting, and farming.
Melissa Johnson moved to Southern Vermont from Istanbul in 1973 and graduated from the Putney School in 1977. After attending The University of Vermont, Goddard College and apprenticing to a production weaver, she began her career in textiles.
Melissa has taught Fiber Arts at The Putney School during the academic year and the summer programs since 1995. She also works as a designer, dyer and color consultant for The Green Mountain Spinnery. She has made 10 trips to Kigali to teach weaving, bring supplies and equipment and repair looms. From the moment she leaves the Kigali weavers, she looks forward to returning to work with them again.
Hi I’m Sid, I grew up in New York City and will be going into my final year at Kingston University London studying Fine Arts this autumn. My work focuses on photo, digital collage, painting, and drawing. In my free time I also enjoy playing guitar, creative writing, and film. After having a memorable time attending Putney Summer Arts as a teenager, I am looking forward to returning to Vermont as a Dorm Head!
Uriel Sandoval Is a Mexican American artist living in Los Angeles. His current art is a series of portrait drawings of people and portraits in oil and watercolor. He also focuses on mixed media art that emphasizes environments, characters, and family members. Uriel currently teaches art classes at Bridges Academy in Studio City. His art classes have conveyed units in painting, drawing, sculpture, and various other art mediums. Uriel is currently obtaining a Master’s Degree in Art History From the California State University of California.
Hi! I’m Zalia. I use she/her pronouns and I’m a rising Junior at Scripps College in Southern California. I’m a theater major and have been studying acting, improv, and stand-up since high school. I’m also a lover of graphic novels, weird historical facts, and any card games. I am an alum of The Putney School Summer Arts so I am so excited to spend another summer in the magical hills of Vermont!